Larry Ness Sunday
Weekly Wipeout Winner NCAA (9-1 Run)
John Beilein is a quality head coach and most expected his second year in Ann Arbor to be greatly improved form his first, when the Wolverines stumbled to a 10-22 overall mark (5-13 in the Big 10). Therefore, few were surprised when Michigan opened 13-3 and was among the nations top-25 teams. Michigan has not maintained that level of play though, as the Wolverines take 2-7 SU (3-6 ATS) mark over their last nine games into today's game in Evanston with Nortwestern. The Wildcats have been regular doormats in the Big 10 as former Princeton coach Bill Carmody has not been able to build on his success in the Ivy League here in the Big 10. His eight-year record at the school since his arrival was 103-135 entering this season but there was an inkling that things could be better for Northwestern this year. That inkling was right, as the Wildcats are a respectable 13-9 overall (4-7 in the Big 10). Carmody returned three double digit scorers from last season's 8-22 team (1-17 in the Big 10), something only one other Big 10 coach could say, Purdue's Matt Painter. The 6-8 Coble (15.2-4.9) plus guard duo Moore (15.0-3.2-2.8) and Thompson (10.0-4.0 APG) are all at double digits again this year. They've been joined by three freshman, the 6-8 Shurna (7.3-2.7), the 6-11 Mirkovic (3.9-2.9) and the 7-0 Rowley (3.9-1.9). Michigan has two stars in 6-5 guard Harris (17.1-7.3-4.3) and the 6-8 Sims (15.0-7.4). However, neither have been at "the top of their games" as of late. The 6-10 Gibson (4.2-2.3) has underachived and three new guards have been less than spectacular. Arizona transfer Lucas-Perry (7.5) has been the best of the bunch (but underwhelming), while freshman Novak (6.5) and Douglass (5.6) have been no better than average. Since winning at pathetic Indiana (6-17 / 1-10 in the Big 10) on Jan 7, the Wolverines have lost at Illinois by 15, at Penn State by 15, at Ohio St by 18, and at Purdue by 18 on the Big 10 road (also lost at U Conn by eight). Meanwhile, Northwestern is 11-3 SU and 7-3 ATS at home this year, owning home wins over Fla St, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The losses have come to Mich St, Purdue and earlier this week to Illinois, which needed to outscore the Wildcats 17-2 over the game's final five minutes for a one-point win. I'm betting that Northwestern won't suffer any "after-effects" from that game, as this team has a winning season in its sights. Michigan had lost three straight games when Northwestern came to Ann Arbor back on Jan 24 (a perfect spot for the Wolverines) but the Wildcats never "backed off," losing by just nine points. Here at home, expect Northwestern to easily take care of a Michigan team which hardly resembles the tean which earlier this year beat then-No. 4 UCLA and then-No. 4 Duke during a 17-day span.
Weekend Wipeout Winner on Northwestern
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider - NCAA
There can be no argument that Temple has turned things around since the first of the year, going 9-3 SU (8-3-1 ATS) since Jan 1. However, Ron Everhart's Duquesne team has sure made major strides in this, his third year in Pittsburgh. He took over a program which had won just three games the year before he arrived and after improving to 10 wins in his first season with the Dukes, went 17-13 last year. This year's team is 15-8 (6-4 in the A-10) and after posting the school's first winning record since 1994 last year, Everhart could (should?) have the Dukes playing in the postseason this year. A win here over Temple would sure help that cause and I believe the Dukes are primed for just that. Temple has a terrific player in the 6-5 Christmas (20.-6.5) but not all that much else. Joining Christmas in the starting lineup is PG Inge (7.3-3.6-3.6) and fellow guard Brooks (10.3-3.9), with the 6-9 Allen (10.7-7.8) and the underachieving 7-0 Olmos (7.7-3.4) starting up front. Temple just edged bitter rival St Joe's 61-59 on Thursday and expect the Owls to have their hands full with the Dukes on this Sunday. Duquesne is 9-3 SU at home and as the ranked Xavier Musketeers found out last weekend (Dukes won 72-68), the AJ Palumbo Center (capacity over just over 5,000) can be one tough venue. Veteran guard Jackson (17.7-5.6-5.5) and Duty (8.2) are joined by freshman Evans (9.6) on the perimeter, while the 6-7 Saunders (13.6-8.0) and the 6-5 Clark (13.0-4.5) are joined up front by 6-4 freshman Bolding (9.4-4.3). Duquesne was able to get Temple to play at its pace last year, when the Owls won 90-85 in Philly, so here at home, expect the Dukes to dictate the style of play and this time, come away with a win.
Las Vegas Insider on Duquesne
Weekly Wipeout Winner NCAA (9-1 Run)
John Beilein is a quality head coach and most expected his second year in Ann Arbor to be greatly improved form his first, when the Wolverines stumbled to a 10-22 overall mark (5-13 in the Big 10). Therefore, few were surprised when Michigan opened 13-3 and was among the nations top-25 teams. Michigan has not maintained that level of play though, as the Wolverines take 2-7 SU (3-6 ATS) mark over their last nine games into today's game in Evanston with Nortwestern. The Wildcats have been regular doormats in the Big 10 as former Princeton coach Bill Carmody has not been able to build on his success in the Ivy League here in the Big 10. His eight-year record at the school since his arrival was 103-135 entering this season but there was an inkling that things could be better for Northwestern this year. That inkling was right, as the Wildcats are a respectable 13-9 overall (4-7 in the Big 10). Carmody returned three double digit scorers from last season's 8-22 team (1-17 in the Big 10), something only one other Big 10 coach could say, Purdue's Matt Painter. The 6-8 Coble (15.2-4.9) plus guard duo Moore (15.0-3.2-2.8) and Thompson (10.0-4.0 APG) are all at double digits again this year. They've been joined by three freshman, the 6-8 Shurna (7.3-2.7), the 6-11 Mirkovic (3.9-2.9) and the 7-0 Rowley (3.9-1.9). Michigan has two stars in 6-5 guard Harris (17.1-7.3-4.3) and the 6-8 Sims (15.0-7.4). However, neither have been at "the top of their games" as of late. The 6-10 Gibson (4.2-2.3) has underachived and three new guards have been less than spectacular. Arizona transfer Lucas-Perry (7.5) has been the best of the bunch (but underwhelming), while freshman Novak (6.5) and Douglass (5.6) have been no better than average. Since winning at pathetic Indiana (6-17 / 1-10 in the Big 10) on Jan 7, the Wolverines have lost at Illinois by 15, at Penn State by 15, at Ohio St by 18, and at Purdue by 18 on the Big 10 road (also lost at U Conn by eight). Meanwhile, Northwestern is 11-3 SU and 7-3 ATS at home this year, owning home wins over Fla St, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The losses have come to Mich St, Purdue and earlier this week to Illinois, which needed to outscore the Wildcats 17-2 over the game's final five minutes for a one-point win. I'm betting that Northwestern won't suffer any "after-effects" from that game, as this team has a winning season in its sights. Michigan had lost three straight games when Northwestern came to Ann Arbor back on Jan 24 (a perfect spot for the Wolverines) but the Wildcats never "backed off," losing by just nine points. Here at home, expect Northwestern to easily take care of a Michigan team which hardly resembles the tean which earlier this year beat then-No. 4 UCLA and then-No. 4 Duke during a 17-day span.
Weekend Wipeout Winner on Northwestern
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider - NCAA
There can be no argument that Temple has turned things around since the first of the year, going 9-3 SU (8-3-1 ATS) since Jan 1. However, Ron Everhart's Duquesne team has sure made major strides in this, his third year in Pittsburgh. He took over a program which had won just three games the year before he arrived and after improving to 10 wins in his first season with the Dukes, went 17-13 last year. This year's team is 15-8 (6-4 in the A-10) and after posting the school's first winning record since 1994 last year, Everhart could (should?) have the Dukes playing in the postseason this year. A win here over Temple would sure help that cause and I believe the Dukes are primed for just that. Temple has a terrific player in the 6-5 Christmas (20.-6.5) but not all that much else. Joining Christmas in the starting lineup is PG Inge (7.3-3.6-3.6) and fellow guard Brooks (10.3-3.9), with the 6-9 Allen (10.7-7.8) and the underachieving 7-0 Olmos (7.7-3.4) starting up front. Temple just edged bitter rival St Joe's 61-59 on Thursday and expect the Owls to have their hands full with the Dukes on this Sunday. Duquesne is 9-3 SU at home and as the ranked Xavier Musketeers found out last weekend (Dukes won 72-68), the AJ Palumbo Center (capacity over just over 5,000) can be one tough venue. Veteran guard Jackson (17.7-5.6-5.5) and Duty (8.2) are joined by freshman Evans (9.6) on the perimeter, while the 6-7 Saunders (13.6-8.0) and the 6-5 Clark (13.0-4.5) are joined up front by 6-4 freshman Bolding (9.4-4.3). Duquesne was able to get Temple to play at its pace last year, when the Owls won 90-85 in Philly, so here at home, expect the Dukes to dictate the style of play and this time, come away with a win.
Las Vegas Insider on Duquesne
CBB
Big 10:
Michigan vs. Northwestern
NW comes off a shocking loss to Illinois after leading nearly from start to finish to their dissappointment. They ended up losing the game by 1 after they had come back home losing to Iowa by 5 on the road. Thus, they are now 4-7 after back to back conference losses and faces a Michigan team who they have revenge against after losing by 9 on the road earlier this year. Michigan however too, comes off back to back losses including a very competitive game they played against #1 UConn and losing by double-digits at home to Michigan State. Sure, NW is nice with revenge, but in such a low scoring game (total placed at 124), the 4.5 could become significant here. Nevertheless, small lean on Michigan.
Atlantic 10:
Temple vs. Duquesne
For starters, the public is split on this game. In fact, they slightly favor Temple. When you look at the power rankings, note that Temple is top 50 and the Dukes are top 100. Usually my spreadsheets indiciate home court gives you about a 50 spot boost in the power ranking with the crowd behind you and some home cooking calls via the officials. So, with that in mind, this game is a tossup. These two teams have not met this year. Temple actually beat this team by 5 last year (covering the -4.5 spread) and now the Dukes look to get revenge at home. Temple comes off some big wins including Rhode Island at home and St. Josephs another top 100 team who they bea tby 2 points on the road. Hence, that is why the spread is 2 here. This is b/c Duquesne and St. J's have very similar rankings. But, the catch is, the Dukes come off a tough loss at Richmond, a game they were leading early and then got caught from behind. Remember, if the Dukes can beat conference leader Xavier by 4 points at home who is a top 25 team, why can they not beat Temple coming off a loss (same situation as to when they beat Xavier coming off a loss to St. Louis in OT). Lean on the Dukes for an outright here or who knows, maybe even lose by 1.
Metro Atlantic:
Rider vs. Manhattan
Rider has quickly scaled the heights of the power rankings. This team is a top 175 team now. Remember, this is a 14-10 team, that comes off a shocking loss to St. Peters on the road by 1 point, after having beaten Marist, conference contender Siena who is a top 75 team at home, and Canisius at home. They face a Manhattan team coming off the SU loss, who they beat by 3 points earlier this year at home in a 76-73 fashion. So, Manhattan undoubtedly has revenge coming into this game. Manhattan is a to 200 team coming off one of their worst conference losses of the year by losing by 24 to Siena on the road. Manhattan had defeated Marist, Loyola Maryland on the road and Iona at home prior to that. But, looks like this team had a bit of a let down after their 12 point win over Iona (holding Iona to just 39 points worth of offense). Rider swept this team winning by 3 and 7 last year. I would not be surprised to see Manhattan pull the upset here at home as both teams come off a loss, but Manhattan come home after one of their worst losses of the season in conference play and they do have revenge against a Rider team who has beaten them several times in the past few years in a row.
Ivy League: No games.
Colonial Athletic:
Towson vs. Drexel
For starters, 66% of the public favor Drexel here as they return home. Towson is a top 250 team that is catching 11 points here in conference play vs. Drexel. Towson comes off a big win against Ga State getting revenge on State from an earlier seaosn loss by about 20 to the hands of State on the road. This team lost by 7 to Drexel at home earlier this year and now faces off against them on the road. Just note that Drexel comes off a 4 point win at Northeastern which was a huge win for this team, after losing at home to ODU and Deleware on the road. This reminds me a bit of the LSU vs. Ole Miss game yesterday as I think as bad as Drexel is, they matched up relatively well earlier this year and I wouldn't be surprised if they squeak in for the cover here against Drexel who comes off a huge road win and might have a bit of a let down in the early going against Towson who will play with a chip on their shoulder.
